SCBG Conducts International Strategic Review and Designs for the Future Development

On November 19-20, a strategic review team composed of 11 international botanic garden professionals convened in Guangzhou, China to assess the recent progress of the South China Botanical Garden (SCBG) and to evaluate a draft ten-year strategic plan for the institution.

The review team investigated garden.

The 11 international botanic garden experts are Dr. Peter H. Raven (Director of Missouri Botanical Garden, USA), Ms. Sara Oldfield (Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation International), Prof. Stephen Blackmore (Director of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Britain), Dr. Philip Moors (Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Australia), Dr.

Tim Entwisle (Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Australia), , Dr. Mustaid Siregar (Director of Bogor Botanic Gardens, Indonesia), Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson (Director of National Botanic Gardens, Ireland ), Dr. Scot Medbury (Director of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, USA), Dr. Pat Raven (Missouri Botanical Garden, USA), HE Shanan (Honorary Director of Nanjing Botanical Garden, China), and SHEN Yungang (Academician Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, CAS).

In addition, there are two observers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS): SHI Bing (Section Chief of Bureau of Planning and Strategy, CAS) and LOU Zhiping (Section Chief of Bureau of Life Science and Biotechnology, CAS).

The review team had a thorough discussion and came into being a primary assessment report on November 20th, in which SCBG is considered to be one of the leading botanical gardens and research institutions globally, based on the importance of the living collections, their standards of care, and the excellent labels for the plants, combined with a number of flourishing research programs.

The report also gave lots of recommendations: 1) based on current performance levels and trajectories, the Visiting Group expects and encourages SCBG to increase its international involvement and play a leading role in the world botanical garden community; 2) provision should be made for members of staff to participate fully in pertinent international activities and to have suitable opportunities for further training during the course of their careers; 3) adequate samples of seeds of these species should be secured preserved under conditions in which they will survive over the long run; 4) develop cooperatively a comprehensive sustainability plan for Guangdong Province and work to implement it; and so on.

The international strategic review was successfully held in SCBG, which settles a strong base for SCBG to conduct further international cooperation, and will increase its international involvement and continue to play a leading role in the world botanical garden community.